Immaculate Child
by albinotanuki
Summary: "Dororo" AU fanfic loosely based on "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Hyakkimaru is raised by Portuguese missionaries and is sheltered throughout most of his life until he meets Mio, but could his master have ulterior motives? OCs are in here.
1. Chapter 1

Claudio Joaozinho, a Portuguese missionary working in Japan during the Sengoku era, was out and about in the wetlands traveling back to the church after giving a sermon to some villagers. It was then he noticed what he thought was an empty boat, but as he got closer, he noticed a bundle inside in it, appeared to be a baby with no skin or eyes. Joaozinho backed off in fear, but his curiosity got the best of him. He looked again, noticing that the baby was breathing.

'This is an unholy demon.' he thought to himself, 'I must get rid of it.'

Joaozinho got out a dagger and was about to stab the cold when Father Xavier, who had come out from the church, ran over and stopped Joaozinho by grabbing his wrist.

"What are you doing?!" asked Father Xavier.

"This demon has to be vanquished, Father." said Joaozinho "I am sending him back to Hell where he belongs."

"Don't you see?" said the Father, "This is a test from God. If you were to kill this innocent, you would be doomed to Hell yourself."

Joaozinho struggled to get his arm free, but looking back at the child, fear began to overtake his body. What if Father Xavier was right and if by killing the child, he would be doomed to Hell himself.

"What must I do?" asked Joaozinho.

"Care for the child and raise him as your own."

Joaozinho shuttered at the idea of raising such a hideous creature, but he sighed.

"Very well. He'll live with us in the church. Our Lord DOES work in mysterious ways." said Joaozinho, "If this baby were meant to be, then perhaps he would be of some use."

And so Joaozinho took the child in and named him a name which, in Japanese, meant "Little Monster": Hyakkimaru.


	2. Chapter 2

Hyakkimaru had no skin, limbs, ears, nor eyes, so special prosthetics were made for him. His world was totally dark and silent except for a few colors he could see omitted from the souls of people, creatures, and objects. Although the church raised him, Hyakkimaru knew little to nothing of God. No matter how much Joaozinho tried, he could not teach him. This often frustrated him to the point of striking the boy.

Years had passed. The boy had grown into a young man. Hyakkimaru became submissive and kept his rosary close to his heart, even though he had no idea what it stood for. This sometimes proved dangerous as Christians were heavily persecuted in Japan at the time, so Joaozinho kept a close eye on the boy by keeping him inside the church walls.

Hyakkimaru had but one friend: a boy named Dororo who became a convert after the passing of his parents. He would often try to help teach Hyakkimaru about the world best through the senses he had and even would help feed him as it was difficult to hold utensils with his prosthetics.

One day, Dororo was helping to feed Hyakkimaru some Peixinhos da Horta in the dining room.

"There you go, Aniki." said Dororo, "I don't know how you're able to eat these. I personally can't stand green beans no matter how much batter the monks fry them in."

Dororo knew Hyakkimaru couldn't hear him talk, but he found it pleasing to open up to him.

Dororo then noticed Hyakkimaru "looking" out the window.

"Aniki? Daijoubu?"

Hyakkimaru instantly got up, went to the storage room, grabbed a sword, and went off outside.

"Aniki, you're not suppose to go outside!" Dororo shouted as he followed Hyakkimaru outside the church walls.

Dororo gasped, seeing a large demon right in front of Hyakkimaru.

Hyakkimaru lunged the blade at the demon's mouth, instantly killing it. Hyakkimaru instantly fell to the ground.

"ANIKI!"

Dororo ran to Hyakkimaru and gasped when he saw that a real leg was growing where his right stump was.

"A miracle." said Dororo.

Dororo helped Hyakkimaru up and started leading him back to the church when Joaozinho spotted the both of them.

"Dororo!" shouted Joaozinho, "What are you and Hyakkimaru doing outside the church walls? If Hyakkimaru is discovered, we would all be killed!"

Hyakkimaru could see Joaozinho's soul raging. He grasped his rosary, hoping Joaozinho wouldn't beat him for leaving the church.

Joaozinho then gasped as he saw that Hyakkimaru's right leg was real now.

"What has happened to his leg?" he asked.

"It's a miracle, Joaozinho!" said Dororo, "There was a demon outside the church and Hyakkimaru went to kill it. When he did, his right leg began to grow."

Joazinho crossed his heart in both fear and awe of what had happened.

"Get the boy inside." he said, "I must report this to Father Xavier."

Dororo nodded as he lead Hyakkimaru inside the church.


	3. Chapter 3

Joaozinho went to Father Xavier and told him what had happened to Hyakkimaru.

"This is not just some miracle." said Father Xavier, "I believe Hyakkimaru's body was taken from him as a child by unholy demons."

"So THAT'S why he went to attack it." said Joaozinho.

"Joaozinho," said Father Xavier, "I believe we should allow Hyakkimaru to venture outside the church walls."

Joaozinho gasped.

"But Father, that would mean death for all of us if the shogunate discovers him. It's bad enough to have to hide our conversions, but if anyone sees that this boy with his deformities came from our church, we're sure to all be crucified."

"I am aware of the risks, Joaozinho." said Father Xavier, "But in order to live a normal life, Hyakkimaru MUST adventure outside. I also worry about your influence on him; whenever you approach him, he holds on tightly to that rosary of his."

"Would you rather him NOT to hold that rosary, Father?" asked Joaozinho.

"Not out of fear of his master." said Father Xavier, "I've tolerated your behavior towards him, maybe even encouraged it, but I will NOT let you harm that boy any longer."

Joaozinho held onto his rosary in fear of what would happen if Hyakkimaru were to leave. He sighed.

"I shall see myself out." said Joaozinho, "I'll keep what you have said in mind."

The next day, Joaozinho had come out to the other monks.

"Father Xavier had died in his sleep. He has appointed me to watch over the church before he passed."

The monks all gasped as Joaozinho walked up to Dororo, who was holding onto Hyakkimaru.

"Make sure Hyakkimaru doesn't leave the church. We wouldn't want him in any danger."

Dororo reluctantly nodded his head as the newly appointed Father Joaozinho passed by.

Hyakkimaru didn't know what was going on, but sensing that there was something wrong, he held onto his rosary tighter.


	4. Chapter 4

Dororo's concern grew since Joaozinho became Father of the church, especially towards his friend, Hyakkimaru. Dororo saw Hyakkimaru become more submissive than ever. There were days that Hyakkimaru wouldn't come out of his room in fear of breaking some sort of rule Father Joaozinho had placed. There were times that Dororo caught Hyakkimaru crying silently. Dororo felt like he needed to do something.

One night, Dororo stole a sward from the storage closet, snuck into Hyakkimaru's room and nudged him to wake him up.

"Aniki, come on, we're going outside." whispered Dororo.

Although Hyakkimaru didn't know what was happening, he sensed that they were going to break some rule. He shoved Dororo's hand away and shifted in his bed, as if to say "no".

"Come in, Aniki, you don't want to be stuck in here forever."

Dororo took Hyakkimaru's hand and pulled him out of the bed. He placed a hooded cloak around his head and lead him out the door. Hyakkimaru protested, trying to pull away from Dororo's surprisingly strong grip. Dororo lead Hyakkimaru outside of the church door. Hyakkimaru hesitated, trying to run back inside, but Dororo shoved him outside.

Hyakkimaru was about to head inside when he noticed a red flame in the distance. He then took the sword Dororo was holding and ran towards it as Dororo ran to catch up with him.

"Hyakkimaru, where are you going?" asked Dororo, knowing he can't hear him.

Hyakkimaru stopped as a huge demon sprung out from the grass. He then flung himself towards the demon, slashing it with the sword. As the demon perished, Hyakkimaru's mask fell off and skin began to grow back.

Dororo gasped.

"Another miracle!" said Dororo, "You must be one of God's Warriors!"

Dororo then had a realization.

"What if Father Joaozinho finds out?" he said, "Aniki, we can't go back now. We have to leave."

Dororo then took Hyakkimaru and hid him into the forest.


	5. Chapter 5

Dororo and Hyakkimaru journeyed quite far from the church. Hyakkimaru slew many demons along the way and with each demon he slew, a new body part grew back. For the first time, he was able to feel pain; when he had accidentally put his foot in a pit of fire, he felt the flames burn. He had also started hearing for the first time; many of the sounds he heard were loud and irritated his ears so much that he often had them covered up. Then there was his voice; it was so loud that he couldn't stand to speak no matter how much Dororo coaxed him into it.

Dororo and Hyakkimaru walked over to a small village one day. Dororo thought it would be a good place to sell some items he found along the way so they could get some food.

"Stay right here, Aniki. I'll see if I can at least raise enough money to buy us some millet."

Dororo went to set up shop when a middle aged man walked up to Hyakkimaru.

"You know you shouldn't be loitering. People might suspect you're up to trouble."

Hyakkimaru covered his ears.

"What? You find my voice irritating?"

Hyakkimaru said nothing.

"ANSWER ME!"

The man grabbed and shook Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru's arms instantly fell off along with his rosary.

"What-What ARE YOU?!" said the man as he stepped back in fear.

Another man came up and picked up the rosary from the ground.

"I've seen these prayer beads before. These are what the Christians cary."

"So, the cripple doesn't believe in our Gods, does he?" said the first.

The man pushed Hyakkimaru to the ground as a crowd gathered around and laughed. They then shoved his face into some mud and stripped his yukata off his back.

Dororo caught sight of what was happening and tried to run over to him.

"HEY, LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

Two men grabbed Dororo by the arms.

One man came out with a cat o' nine tails.

"I picked this up from one of the ships the Gaijin sail in. Perhaps he'd like a taste of what they do to each other."

The man started whipping Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru cried out as each of the nine knotted ropes struck his back.

It was at that moment Joaozinho and the monks, who had been searching for Dororo and Hyakkimaru, stopped in their tracks.

"We have to stop them!" said one monk.

"No!" said Joaozinho, "If we retrieve him, then we'll be exposed. Besides, a lesson needs to be learned here."

The man carrying the cat o' nine tails was about to strike another blow when, all of a sudden, a young woman came and shielded Hyakkimaru.

"STOP!" she cried out.

"Get out of the way, you whore!" cried the man.

"You think you're tough for treating this poor boy with cruelty? You're nothing but a bunch of monsters! ALL OF YOU!"

The young woman helped Hyakkimaru up as she wiped the mud off his face.

"I'm so sorry this has happened to you." she said to Hyakkimaru.

She walked Hyakkimaru away from the crowd. Dororo got away from the men's grip as he grabbed Hyakkimaru's arms and ran over to him.

"Aniki, daijoubu? I should never have left you alone."

"You shouldn't have brought him outside the church."

Dororo looked over at Joaozinho, who walked up to them.

"Now you see why it's dangerous for Hyakkimaru to be outside. Come, lets go home."

Joaozinho lead the two boys away as the young woman couldn't help but watch on.


	6. Chapter 6

Joaozinho lead the two boys back home to the church. Dororo tended to Hyakkimaru's wounds. The torment Hyakkimaru had suffered from the villagers had left both physical and emotional scars. Hyakkimaru had never felt humiliation before and the pain from being flogged by the cat o' nine tails was too much for him to bare. His hot tears ran across his face as he let out a wail from the pain he had felt. All Dororo could do was hug and comfort him.

One day, the young woman from the village decided to go to the church to pay Hyakkimaru a visit. She carried some manju filled with azuki bean paste in a sack and proceeded to the door. She knocked on it and was greeted by a monk.

"Why are you? You're not a spy for the Shogun, are you?"

"No!" she said, "My name is Mio. I'm here to see Hyakkimaru."

"We don't allow visitors here."

At that moment, Dororo came by, recognizing her from before.

"Don't kick her out. She saved Hyakkimaru from that mob earlier. Please, let her in."

The monk sighed.

"Alright, but if Father Joaozinho finds out about this, then we'll both be in trouble."

"Trust me, we'll keep her a secret."

Dororo snuck Mio inside and lead her to Hyakkimaru's room.

"Aniki, you have a visitor."

"Konichiwa." she said.

Hyakkimaru's ears perked up, recognizing the sweet voice that had saved him from the mob.

Mio went over to him and smiled as she held his prosthetic hands.

"I wanted to see you again. No one should ever have to go through what you went through that day."

Hyakkimaru said nothing, only blushed when she spoke to him.

"To shy to speak I see?" said Mio.

"He doesn't speak at all." said Dororo, "I've tried to teach him, but he won't do it."

"Oh?" said Mir before turning to Hyakkimaru, "Why don't you try speaking?"

Hyakkimaru shook his head and put his hand over his ears.

"What's the matter? Your voice is too loud?"

Hyakkimaru put his finger in his ears.

Mio couldn't help but laugh a bit.

It was at that moment when Joaozinho went into Hyakkimaru's room and saw Mio.

"What is she doing here?!" he asked.

Dororo gasped and went to her defense.

"Father Joaozinho, it's not what you think. Mio here just wanted to visit Hyakkimaru. She's not a spy or anything."

"It doesn't matter. She might expose us all." said Joaozinho.

"WAIT!" said Mio, "You teach people about God, so teach me. I promise I won't tell anyone about what you're doing."

Joaozinho looked at Mio. Her soft eyes seemed quite honest.

"Alright." he said, "But you must stay in the confides of this church while you're having your lessons."

"I promise." she said.


	7. Chapter 7

Mio did as Father Joaozinho instructed. She stayed within the confides of the church as she was given lessons on the bible. She learnt about Jesus and Abraham, along with the many saints who served God. She even helped around the church, cleaning and watering the garden.

One day, she was watering the garden while singing while singing a traditional folksong (which Joaozinho forbade for it was consider too "pagan"). She thought she was alone, but she heard footsteps walking towards her. She panicked and turned around, only to find Hyakkimaru standing in front of her.

"Oh. You heard my song? Father Joaozinho says I'm not suppose to sing that song."

Hyakkimaru said nothing. Only "stared" at her, which made Mio uncomfortable.

"I know you can't actually see me, but why do you look at me that way?"

"He can see the color of your soul."

Dororo came over and stood next to Hyakkimaru

"I don't understand it myself, but that's how he can see the color of souls from living things."

At that moment, Hyakkimaru pointed to Mio's lips and silently opened his mouth.

"Nani?" asked Mio.

"I think he wants you to sing." said Dororo, "Maybe it'll get him use to sound."

"Oh, I don't know." said Mio.

As Hyakkimaru continued to point to her lips, she sighed, smiled a bit, and began to sing.

_Pick a red flower_

_To give to her _

_In her hair_

_I will put the flower_

It was at that moment, Mio saw Joaozinho watching and listening.

"Father Joaozinho!" she said, "I was just-"

"Singing pagan songs?" said Joaozinho.

"Trying to get Hyakkimaru use to sound, Father." said Mio.

"I'll be watching over Hyakkimaru's well being." said Father Joaozinho, "In the meantime, you should continue your lessons."

"Yes father." said Mio.

Mio continued on her way as Joaozinho watched, placing a hand on Hyakkimaru's shoulder.

"That witch bewildered you. Be wary of her ways."

Hyakkimaru only responded to Joaozinho by holding onto his rosary.


	8. Chapter 8

Joaozinho was giving Mio another lesson in the bible.

"So Jesus saved the prostitute even though she was a sinner?" asked Mio.

"Jesus taught forgiveness." said Joaozinho, "Even the greatest of sinners can be saved if we accept his teachings."

Mio sighed.

"I use to sell my body to feed children orphaned in the war. They all died when Lord Daigo came and burned down the temple we were all staying at. I sometimes wonder if what I did was all for nothing."

At that moment, Joaozinho put his hand on Mio. She was all too familiar with that touch. It was the touch that she often felt when a man payed to have sex with her. She flinched away.

"FATHER!" she said, backing away.

"Careful witch." said Father Joaozinho, "God does not look kindly on those that cloud the mind with unholy thoughts."

Mio ran out of the room.

Days had passed. Mio had not spoken of what Father Joaozinho had done in fear of what he would do to her if she did.

One day, Mio decided to make some more manju for Hyakkimaru. She went into his room and brought it over to him.

"I just decided to see how you were doing." she said as she sat down next to him and put the manju next to him.

"You know, you make me think of Saint Giles. He looks after the cripples and outcasts." said Mio, "When I first saw you being whipped in the village, I had heard a voice telling me to help you. Perhaps that had been Saint Giles."

Hyakkimaru said nothing, only "stared" at her, listening to her voice. This made Mio uncomfortable.

"I know you can see the colors of people's souls. Please don't look at mine; it's probably filthy."

Hyakkimaru then touched Mio's face with his hands. These were not the hands of Father Joaozinho or the men that she had served. These hands were kind, gentle, and innocent.

"Funny. I don't hate these hands." she said.


End file.
